1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to the treatment of electrophysiological disease, and more particularly to devices and methods for ablating tissue in treating atrial fibrillation.
2. Related Art
A procedure known as the surgical maze procedure has been developed for treating atrial fibrillation, a condition which results from, disorganized electrical activity in the heart muscle or myocardium. The surgical maze procedure involves the creation of a series of surgical incisions in a preselected pattern so as to create conductive corridors of viable tissue bounded by scar tissue.
Ablative procedures have been used as an alternative to the surgical incisions used in the maze procedure. Typically, the ablative techniques include endocardial or epicardial ablation, which create lesions extending through a sufficient thickness of the myocardium to block electrical conduction.
Unfortunately, the maze procedure, whether using surgical or ablative techniques, is often very time-consuming and can result in lesions which do not completely encircle the pulmonary veins or which contain gaps and discontinuities. Most procedures do not include means for visualization of endocardial anatomy and most endovascular devices are often inadequate in relaying the precise position of such devices in the heart. This may result in misplaced lesions.